{"id":502274,"date":"2010-04-01T18:32:58","date_gmt":"2010-04-01T22:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/?p=81245"},"modified":"2010-04-01T18:32:58","modified_gmt":"2010-04-01T22:32:58","slug":"epa-sharply-limits-mountaintop-mining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/502274","title":{"rendered":"EPA Sharply Limits Mountaintop Mining"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_81246\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 490px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/mt-removal.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-81246\" title=\"Mountaintop mine\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/mt-removal-480x321.jpg\" alt=\"Mountaintop mine\" width=\"480\" height=\"321\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mountaintop removal mine in West Virginia (Rick Eglinton\/Toronto Star\/ZUMA Press)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The White House on Thursday took a giant leap toward eliminating new  mountaintop coal mining projects in the Appalachian states, <a id=\"qz3b\" title=\"issuing\" href=\"http:\/\/yosemite.epa.gov\/opa\/admpress.nsf\/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d\/4145c96189a17239852576f8005867bd%21OpenDocument\">issuing<\/a> strict new guidelines designed to  protect headwater streams by curbing the practice of dumping  waste in neighboring valleys.<\/p>\n<p>Announcing the changes,  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said <a id=\"kepe\" title=\"the guidelines\" href=\"http:\/\/www.epa.gov\/owow\/wetlands\/guidance\/pdf\/appalachian_mtntop_mining_summary.pdf\">the guidelines<\/a> are intended to  make the standards governing new mountaintop projects \u201cclear and  consistent,\u201d following a series of EPA decisions over the past year that  stakeholders on all sides of the debate found contradictory.<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_3032\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 145px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3032\" title=\"environment\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/environment.jpg\" alt=\"Image by: Matt Mahurin\" width=\"130\" height=\"130\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by: Matt Mahurin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"floatButtons\">\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/digg.com\/tools\/diggthis.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n\tsrc=\"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/ds\/badge2.js\"\n\tbadgetype=\"square\">\n\t<?php the_permalink(); ?><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\">\n\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\ntweetmeme_source = \"TWI_news\";\ntweetmeme_service = \"bit.ly\";\n<\/script> <script src=\"http:\/\/tweetmeme.com\/i\/scripts\/button.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left;\"><a name=\"fb_share\" type=\"box_count\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php\">Share<\/a><script src=\"http:\/\/static.ak.fbcdn.net\/connect.php\/js\/FB.Share\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Yet  the practical effect of the new standards &#8212; which will require mining  operations to control levels of toxins in nearby streams &#8212; will be to  minimize, if not outright preclude, the dumping of mining waste in  valleys adjacent to the projects. Because the coal industry maintains  that most mountaintop projects wouldn\u2019t be worth the additional cost of  trucking the debris to more distant dumping sites, the guidelines &#8212; if  properly enforced &#8212; could end most new mountaintop projects before they  ever begin.<\/p>\n<p>The move drew immediate criticism from  the coal mining industry, which views the new environmental protections  as a threat to profits and jobs. But it received high praise from one of  the most powerful lawmakers in Appalachia, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), a  one-time defender of mountaintop mining who more recently has turned a  critical eye toward the practice.<\/p>\n<p>At issue is the mining  technique known as <a id=\"y2m1\" title=\"mountaintop removal\" href=\"http:\/\/mountainjusticesummer.org\/facts\/steps.php\">mountaintop removal<\/a>, in which companies  use dynamite and draglines to blast and scrape away Appalachian peaks in  order to access the coal seams within. In the process, the trees, soil,  rock and other debris resting atop the coal are often pushed into  adjacent valleys, many of which hold tiny streams forming the headwaters  of larger bodies of water below.<\/p>\n<p>The technique has  been attractive to coal companies, which save money by eliminating  trucking needs (valleys are nearby) and labor costs (dynamite is cheap).  But it\u2019s also <a id=\"i1lh\" title=\"ravaged neighboring communities\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/76219\/now-on-stage-the-story-of-coal%E2%80%99s-dirty-deadly-legacy\">ravaged neighboring  communities<\/a> by poisoning wells and waterways, contaminating air,  killing off wildlife and <a id=\"cs87\" title=\"flooding\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2002\/08\/12\/us\/flooding-in-appalachia-stirs-outrage-over-a-mining-method.html?pagewanted=1\">flooding<\/a> nearby homes. The EPA estimates  that nearly 2,000 miles of Appalachian streams have been buried already  by mountaintop projects.<\/p>\n<p>The new EPA guidelines are  designed to gauge the health of nearby streams based on their levels of  conductivity, which is a good indicator of water&#8217;s purity. The runoff  from Appalachian mines tends to contain toxins like magnesium, sulfate,  bicarbonate, and potassium &#8212; all ions that raise conductivity levels.  The higher the conductivity, the tougher it is for aquatic life to  survive.<\/p>\n<p>Under the new EPA guidelines, mining projects  expected to raise conductivity levels of nearby streams above 500  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sensorex.com\/support\/education\/conductivity_education.html\" >micro-siemens per centimeter<\/a> &#8212; five times the normal level &#8212; will be  rejected. That level has been shown to harm aquatic life, Jackson said,  citing &#8220;considerable peer reviewed data.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Jackson maintained that the  intent of the guidelines is not to create a blanket ban on all new  mountaintop removal projects. \u201cThis is not about ending coal mining,\u201d  she told reporters on a conference call Thursday. \u201cThis is about ending  coal mining pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, the EPA chief also  said that there are \u201cno or very few valley fills that will meet  standards like this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, EPA estimates that the  Spruce No. 1 Mine near Charleston &#8212; at 2,300 acres, the largest  mountaintop project ever proposed in West Virginia &#8212; would send  conductivity levels of nearby streams as high as 2,400 micro-siemens per  centimeter. For that reason, the agency last week <a id=\"i-dc\" title=\"proposed\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/80637\/epa-proposes-potential-veto-of-the-largest-mountaintop-mine-in-west-virginia\">proposed<\/a> to veto the project.<\/p>\n<p>No  one has to explain to the coal industry that the new guidelines are are  threat to the lucrative mountaintopping business. The National Mining  Association, a trade group, issued <a id=\"r.2w\" title=\"a statement\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nma.org\/newsroom\/press_release_detail.asp?idVar=303\">a statement<\/a> Thursday blasting the  EPA&#8217;s new rules for what it called a failure &#8220;to give greater thought to  the impact on jobs, affordable electricity and U.S. steel production.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;EPA  continues to point to \u2019new science\u2019 that has been found to be both  flawed and limited in its findings,&#8221; the NMA wrote.<\/p>\n<p>On  the other side of the debate have been environmental and community  groups, which have fought a decades-long battle against mountaintop  removal. In their eyes, the EPA&#8217;s new guidelines &#8212; which effectively  attach hard numerical standards to environmental protections more  vaguely outlined in the <a id=\"xu13\" title=\"Clean Water Act\" href=\"http:\/\/www.epa.gov\/wetlands\/regs\/sec404.html\">Clean Water Act<\/a> &#8212; were a godsend after  years watching the agency look away as mine after mine was approved.<\/p>\n<p>The  Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, a West Virginia-based advocacy  group, applauded the EPA for &#8220;finally listening to scientists.&#8221; The  Rainforest Action Network cheered the agency for &#8220;finally flexing its full authority under the Clean Water  Act.&#8221;\u00a0And\u00a0Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said  the policy represents nothing short of &#8220;the most significant  administrative action ever taken to address mountaintop removal coal  mining.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The new standards will  apply to all mountaintop operations proposed in the future, as well as  the nearly 80 pending mountaintop permits the EPA is currently  reviewing. The guidelines are specific to the Appalachian states only.  &#8220;You can&#8217;t take this data and apply it outside the region,&#8221; Jackson  said. But she broached the possibility that the standards could also  apply to non-mining projects &#8212; things like roads &#8212; within the  Appalachian states.<\/p>\n<p>The guidelines take effect  immediately, although the EPA is accepting public comments and could  alter the standards based on that input.<\/p>\n<p>For the  Obama administration, it&#8217;s been a long road to today&#8217;s announcement. On  the campaign trail, Obama <a id=\"c0p:\" title=\"vowed\" href=\"http:\/\/wvgazette.com\/News\/MiningtheMountains\/200809160778?page=1&amp;build=cache\">vowed<\/a> to end the practice of mountaintop  mining in favor of less destructive methods. But the coal industry is a  powerful force &#8212; and a strong economic engine &#8212; in Appalachia. And it  has the ear of some of the more influential figures on Capitol Hill,  including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Nick  Rahall (D-W.Va.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.  Faced with those competing pressures the EPA last year took steps <a id=\"vy1n\" title=\"to rein in\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/36331\/tensions-high-as-epa-reasserts-mining-authority\">to rein in<\/a> mountaintop removal, but  also\u00a0<a id=\"daxm\" title=\"issued\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/43861\/epa-mining-decisions-favor-coal-industry\">issued<\/a> more than 40 surface mining  permits, threatening dozens of Appalachian streams.<\/p>\n<p>At  least one powerful Appalachian lawmaker was happy about the EPA&#8217;s move  to define the permitting standards. The 92-year-old Byrd &#8212; who spent a  lifetime defending the coal industry that practically defines West  Virginia&#8217;s economy &#8212; said Thursday that he was &#8220;pleased&#8221; that the EPA  took &#8220;very seriously&#8221; his concerns about the need for clear standards to  govern the permitting process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Today\u2019s  announcement,&#8221; Byrd said, &#8220;will hopefully now have everyone reading off  the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A mountaintop removal mine in West Virginia (Rick Eglinton\/Toronto Star\/ZUMA Press) The White House on Thursday took a giant leap toward eliminating new mountaintop coal mining projects in the Appalachian states, issuing strict new guidelines designed to protect headwater streams by curbing the practice of dumping waste in neighboring valleys. Announcing the changes, Environmental Protection [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4315,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-502274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}